‘PBS NewsHour’ Closing Two Bureaus, Laying Off Staffers

This just in: Layoffs are about to hit one of public broadcasting’s signature shows. The New York Timesreports that PBS NewsHour, the nightly newscast launched in 1975, is closing its San Francisco and Denver offices — its only outlets outside the D.C. area — and pink-slipping most of the staffers there. It will be the show’s first major round of layoffs since the mid-‘90s. Producer MacNeil/Lehrer Prods also will cut some jobs at NewsHour’s Arlington, Va., headquarters and make cutbacks by not filling vacant positions and streamlining. The reason? A decrease in corporate sponsorship. A NewsHour spokeswoman told the Times that the reorganization, which will take place over several months starting in July, would help balance the budget.

8 Comments

Jed • on Jun 11, 2013 5:53 pm

This is one of the better shows on that network right now and hoping they don’t cancel it as a result of these cost-cutting moves. They’re running subscription drives on many PBS affiliates nationwide right now.

Reggie Van Luster • on Jun 11, 2013 5:53 pm

I’m a regular viewer of NewsHour who doesn’t usually like to hear about layoffs in the media, but I don’t see this as huge loss for the show. Honestly, I wasn’t even aware they even had bureaus. When did they ever throw to someone in Denver? (Denver?) I figured they relied on local PBS affiliates, ITV, and maybe freelancers.

Then again, I can recall stories about the environment in the Bay Area and weed decriminalization in Colorado. If we lose those on-the-ground stories, does that mean more of NewsHour’s studio segments with talking heads? Hmmm.

newAge • on Jun 11, 2013 5:53 pm

The sooner it is cancelled the better. It is a globalist corporate shill that doesn’t challenge political talking points and simply pushes establishment agendas. Useless regurgitating old sock.

Banjoman • on Jun 11, 2013 5:53 pm

Hey, at least the username is forthright.

Just Me • on Jun 11, 2013 5:53 pm

Another sign of Obama’s recovering economy?

The bad news for those who get their news from PBS is that like most other so-called news outlets, they live in a Washington DC bubble where a bloated and over-compensated federal work force has led to an economic boom while the private sector in most of the country (you know, the people who actually pay government salaries) continues to suffer. They are married to government—literally. Just do a little research and you’ll find that many in the news gathering business have either worked in government or have spouses who work in government. It is an incestuous relationship. You’ll never get the straight story from a group of people (D.C. journalists) who have a vested interest in the status quo.

The federal reserve prints money at an alarming rate so the stock market rises. Speculators rush in to our communities with the “cheap” money and gobble up real estate that was abandoned by people who have lost the ability to pay their mortgages and we are supposed to believe things are improving for the majority of Americans? Hogwash. Wake up you morons!

CG • on Jun 11, 2013 5:53 pm

I agree…have been increasingly disappointed, especially over the last five years.

joeS • on Jun 11, 2013 5:53 pm

It is, by far, the best TV newshow out there – has been for years. Too bad about the cuts, although nowadays, it seems inevitable.

Reggie, yes, many of the regional in-the-field reports are originated in offices like in Denver and San Francisco. It’s too bad, as it just means more focus on media centers like L.A..

cara bebedetti • on Jun 11, 2013 5:53 pm

THIS IS NOT A DUPLICATE…..IT IS THE N ONLY TIME I HAVE WRITTEN TO YOU. The new lineup is dreadful. Suddenly, I am faced with a shortened and jazzed up version. Better to have nothing than to cater to what the directors think will sell. We already have Gwen Ifill on Friday nites….so why do we need her anaother time and cut out two of the other guys that have been staples for years and are serious. WHO WAS THE BRAINSTORM BEHIND THIS MOVE? I will be looking for Al jazeera and hope they take up where you left off. I am so very disappointed.